St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-12-29
An Editor With Sand.

The Northampton OaZeJle Is very
pronounced temperance paper. The
action of the city in the late election
in voting license for liquor saloons and
in electing four rum aldermen was
severely criticised by the Gazette,
whereupOn the city ''bOard of trade"
sent Editor Gsre the following resOlu-
ton through its secretary:
That the Northampton board Of trade,
while taking a decided and unquivOcal
stand upon the side of temperance and
morality, deplOres and repudiates the
incorporate and undignified statements
made by the Hampshire Gazette in its
comments upon the late municipal
action on the license question, as be-
ing alike derOgatOry to- the city and
detrimental to it's educational, social
and commercial interests and tending
to defeat the efforts of this Organiza-
ton to promote the growth, welfare
and good standing of Northampton.
EDITOR CERES REPLY.
Ny Dear Sir Il have received from
you a copy of a resolution and vote
passed by the board of trade, cOndem-
ming the course of the Gazette re-
speeding the late election. Until
received your communication, | had
not supposed it was necessary that the
Gazette should be indorsed by your
organization. | had thought that your
board of trade was established for the
purpose of looking more especially
after the material interests of the city.
But it seems that | was mistaken.
Yours is a broader institution, with a
wider scope of operations, than | was
aware of. You look after the press of
the city, as we'll as after matters of
transportation, new industries, and the
like, to see that what it publishes is III
harmony with your ideas of prOpriety.
This is something of IL job that you have
undertaken. Crowned heads have at
tempted the same task, but history
fails to record any great success that
they have achieved. Still, you may
do better. However l am pleased to
be thus officially informed that the
members of your board of trade are
readers of the Gazette, and take so
lively an interest in what appears i'll
it's columns.
Now, as you have in hand this little
matter of discipline, will you please
inform me, at your earliest convent
ence, the precise language which has
SD arrested the attention of your board
of tradeP Your resolution is in the
form of an Indictment. You, Mr.. Sec
rotary, are lawyer, and you know
that the defendant has the right to call
for "bill of particulars" So you
will see that my request for 'chapter
and verse" is not unreasonable, nor
without precedent, where body like
your own is sitting as high court of
impeachment.
Your board of trade assumes to be
the especial champion of the honor and
good name of Northampton. 1t has
been in existence here something less
than year, and many of its members
are recent corners to town. | have
been here, in active business, as pub
Usher, over forty years. | claim to
have done something for the ''grOwth,
welfare, and good standing of North
amptOn," and to have as much at stake |
here as any member of your board of
trade. | expect to do as much here |
after for the best interests of the city |
as any member of your organization.
My observation during residence
here of nearly fOrty-three years has
satisfied me that the town is better off
without twenty or thirty liquor saloons,
than it would be, or than it has been
with them. If your board of trade
thinks differently, | shall not quarrel
with you about it; but | shall claim
the right to differ from you in the
matter, and also the privilege of say
ing SO in such good plain English that
the people who read the Gazette can
easily understand it.
l shall be very glad to cooperate
with your board of trade i'll all meas
ures for the promotion of the best in
terests of the city but you must
excuse me from engaging very zeal
Ously in the work in which your body |
is now enlisted, of soothing the wound
ed feelings of the rum party, and
calling it sustaining the "educational,
social and commercial interests" of
the city.